Plus: Taylor Swift, Howard Marks and more. [Bloomberg](
This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a relationship timeline of Bloomberg Opinionâs opinions. [Sign up here](. Todayâs Agenda - Putin and Xi [reunite](.
- Taylor Swift takes [flight](.
- Howard Marks is [alright](.
- Burgers hurt the [climate fight](. âNo Limitsâ Did the world really need another Putin-Xi photo? Probably [not](. But we have one. And Xiâs tie is annoyingly off-center: Itâs the matching pins for me. Photographer: Sergei Savostyanov/AFP The last time Vladimir Putin took a trip to China to say hello to his pal Xi Jinping, he had been plotting in his evil lair to invade Ukraine. Whether Xi knew about that, weâll never know. But just three weeks after Putinâs visit, his âspecial military operationâ was underway. Obviously, that hasnât worked out so well: âPutinâs catastrophic error in attempting to invade a neighbor the size of France as though it were a glorified training exercise has, by some estimates, resulted in halving Russiaâs military strength,â Marc Champion [writes](. And Xiâs not faring much better. The Chinese economy looks to be even more askew than his tie. The two leaders â both who feel squeezed by the West â share a vested interest in not just geopolitics but also self-preservation. The third-annual Belt and Road forum could not have taken place at a more chaotic time, given the events unfolding in the Mideast. Already, we can see [messaging]( coming out of the event that aims to court the Muslim world. Russia and China will stop at nothing to convince their prospective allies in the Global South that the problem isnât Putinâs aggression in Ukraine or Hamasâ grotesque terrorist acts in Israel, but rather the continued colonialism of the US and Europe. âNever mind Russian suppression of Muslim Tatars in occupied Crimea or Chinese internment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang province,â Marc points out. Although Xi is happy to fan those flames, heâs been conspicuously silent on actual [solutions](. âBeijing consistently says it wants peace. But the pathway it offers to get there is unclear,â Karishma Vaswani [writes](. Thatâs because Xi is meticulous about keeping his hands clean. He goes through the motions by arguing for [the same]( old two-state solution proposal that China has encouraged for years. But there are no new ideas. No loose ends that could trap him down the line. That lack of effort highlights âChinaâs inexperience with complex geopolitical issues and its limited foreign policy [capacity](. Under Xi, the nation is not ready for the crown it says it wants to wear,â she says. No wonder Chinaâs public image when it comes to international affairs is [broadly negative](. Xi tiptoed around some of Putinâs requests: âEven though China has thrown Russia an [economic lifeline](, Putin must be disappointed with Xiâs decision not to provide lethal aid to his beleaguered military,â Minxin Pei [writes](. Although all eyes are on the Belt and Road festivities today, they wonât be by tomorrow, when US President Joe Biden flies to Israel. Andreas Kluth [says]( Biden will need to âuse the symbolism of his presence to address multiple audiences, each with a subtly different message. The Israelis must viscerally feel his support. The Palestinians and their sympathizers worldwide must grasp that Biden genuinely cares about the lives of innocents in the Gaza Strip. The mullahs in Iran and the fighters of Hezbollah must sense his resolve to stop them from escalating.â If all goes well, the US leader could show that Washington, not Beijing, is the closest thing to a [warden of global order]( today. âWith luck, Biden might even shame Xi back toward cooperation for the sake of international stability â perhaps when the two men meet in San Francisco [next month](,â Andreas notes. I, for one, hope Xi has his tie straightened for that photo op. Bonus Mideast Reading: The market is still [rather calm]( on Israel-Hamas. Is that fine, or is it dangerous? â John Authers Taylor Swift, SEO Mastermind âWhat if I told you none of it was accidental?â Photographer: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images North America Thereâs a deliciously [compelling]( theory out there that Taylor Swift (or her PR team) is so good at search engine optimization (aka SEO) that she has altered Google to be in her favor. I secretly hope this theory is true because it is an insanely impressive long game and I respect that. But Iâll let you decide whether itâs pure [coincidence]( or not: - Example #1: In 2014, Taylor went to a 1975 concert with her good friend at the time, Karlie Kloss. One of the blurry images from that evening made it look like they were kissing, even though [they were not](. If you were to Google âTaylor Swift 1975â in the months and years following that concert, youâd see the allegations, the videos and the fan theories. That all changed when earlier this year, Taylor began going out with Matty Healy â the lead singer of the 1975. If you Google âTaylor Swift 1975â today, you get a Teen Vogue article about their [relationship timeline](. There are no photos with her and Karlie. There are no mentions of âkissgate.â That saga has all but disappeared from the internet.
- Example #2: If you were to Google âTaylor Swift jetsâ before this month, youâd see articles about how the pop starâs private planes spent [166 hours in the air]( during the Eras tour. Youâd click on the [Instagram account]( dedicated to tracking her flight patterns. Youâd learn that she has not one, but two [Dassault jets]( in her private collection. And youâd read [the claims]( that say sheâs is responsible for thousands of tons of carbon emissions. But if you search for âTaylor Swift jetsâ today, youâll see articles about the New York Jets, an NFL team. Things like: [Did Taylor Swift Attend the Eagles-Jets Game with Travis Kelce?]( Or: [âWe Taylor-gated': Taylor Swift Fans Descend on a Jets Game](. Poof! The allegations about her personal air travel are gone, thanks to her new relationship with the Chiefsâ tight end. Either this is the work of an SEO mastermind, or Taylor should go buy a Powerball ticket because that is pure luck. Not that she needs to win the Powerball, though: The 33-year-old star is â[on her way]( to becoming Americaâs youngest self-made female billionaire and one of the few magnate millennials who hasnât made her fortune from meme stocks and cryptocurrency,â Amanda Little [writes](. In addition to her stadium shows, the Eras Tour [concert film]( â which debuted this weekend at AMC theaters â is on track to generate up to [$4 billion]( from ticket sales alone. âIn an [eraÂ](when âbillionaireâ has become synonymous with [antiheroes]( like Elon Musk,â Amanda argues, âwe need a new model for extreme affluence in America.â So how can Taylor be a better billionaire? She could start by endorsing President Joe Bidenâs [proposed]( 25% tax on the ultra-rich. More than half of Taylorâs fan base of Gen Z and millennials have a [negative view]( of capitalism. Supporting the tax would cement her status as a powerful lever of capitalism in America. Of course, sheâd also need to address the elephant in the room: The jets. Last year alone, the singer had about 650 times per-capita emissions in the US. âThe Eras Tour has exponentially increased this impact â not just through the singerâs personal travel and that of her crew, but by the fans traveling to her events across 146 shows on [five continents](,â Amanda notes. I imagine pledging to [carbon-neutral touring]( â including efficient stadium lighting, sustainable food vendors and limits on single-use plastics â would be far less laborious than trying to erase your private jets from history of the entire internet. Crash Course "I can work with anger. I can work with disappointment. I can work with fear. I can work with anxiety ... But I cannot do anything about mistrust. I cannot do anything if the public believes that those who are telling the truth are lying, and the liars are actually truth tellers."
Frank Luntz
Communications strategist and pollster
On the latest [episode]( of Crash Course, Tim OâBrien [discusses]( the purpose of polling ahead of the 2024 election with Frank, a communications strategist and pollster who specializes in leveraging the emotional content of language. Telltale Charts If you sit at the helm of a super-successful hedge fund, is there an unwritten rule that you just have to keep saying stuff? Like, you made all this money. Now people care about what you have to say. So you write a book, slap your face on the cover, call it a day. But the people want more. And how can you deny the will of the people? So you give them everything: The tweets, the business-channel interviews, the symposiums â all of it. At a certain point, you just start telling people âeverythingâs changing foreverâ because it seems like a solid tactic. Technically, things are always changing! How can they prove you wrong!? Well: âMuch in the same way that the stock market has predicted nine of the past five recessions â to cite an old joke from the late economist Paul Samuelson â market commentators tend to predict vastly more fundamental shifts than actually occur,â Jonathan Levin [writes](. Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital Management, known for being a voice of reason, has surprisingly joined a growing field of investing personalities making bold claims about interest rates. Although his latest [essays]( about â[sea change](â appear melodramatic, Marks still recognizes the uncertainty around his projections. Pershing Squareâs Bill Ackman, on the other hand, is projecting that inflation could persistently run around 3%, which would mean policy rates of some 3.5% â âan extreme forecast that presupposes a lot will go wrong, and not much will go right,â by Jonathanâs estimation. Who would you trust: Marks or Ackman? Letâs play a little game, shall we? If you were a US government official and you had to start taxing something, would you rather ⦠- Put a tax on puppies.
- Put a tax on ice cream.
- Put a tax on fun.
- Put a tax on cheeseburgers.
- Resign before things get ugly. Honestly, 5 might be your best option. Nobody is gonna want to vote for you after you put a levy on their chihuahua or mint chip sundae. And blue cheese bacon burgers?! There would be a rebellion: âEach American, on average, consumes about [280 pounds]( of meat per year, second only to Hong Kong,â Mark Gongloff [writes](. In contrast, âpeople in poorer countries eat maybe [10 pounds]( of meat during each trip around the sun.â Still, to meet our goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C, weâd need to cut our meat consumption by 82%. So far, New Zealand is the only country to attempt a pseudo-meat tax. In 2025, it will place a methane tax on farms so that consumers are directed to purchase healthier, less carbon-intensive food, including meat substitutes. As politically painful as it might be, US officials eventually might need to break out the T-bone tax, too. Further Reading No human on the face of this planet wants [another]( net-neutrality fight. â Bloombergâs editorial board Goldman Sachsâ consumer banking horror story is [finally ending](. â Paul J. Davies Uh, sir? You [canât sell those trees]( if nobody was gonna cut them down. â Matt Levine Americaâs oil reserves are [dangerously low](. Time for a refill. â Javier Blas [Virtual therapy]( for teens on FaceTime or Zoom can save lives. â Lisa Jarvis The GOP is having [second thoughts]( on its moral crusade against abortion rights. â Francis Wilkinson South Korea wants to get a slice of the [global defense market]( pie. â Tim Culpan ICYMI Appleâs [newest pencil]( isnât so fancy. The CEO of Goldman Sachs is a former [DJ]( now. Greta Thunberg was [arrested]( in London. NFL players could be in [the Olympics](. Donald Trump is not a fan of [flies](. Kickers Mona Lisa has [a secret](. (h/t Ellen Kominers) [Subs]( arrive on a moped. The [secret life]( of Jimmy Zhong. A 21-year-old [solved]( an ancient mystery. These in-laws sure love [Jell-O](. Emotional support chickens for the [win](. Notes: Please send subs and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Threads](, [TikTok](, [Twitter](, [Instagram]( and [Facebook](. Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Before itâs here, itâs on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals canât find anywhere else. [Learn more](. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Opinion Today newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox.
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